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Kerala notifies Calicut University garden as Biodiversity Heritage Site

By CAShorts DeskPublished Source: The Hindu; PIB (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change); Kerala State Biodiversity Board.

Kerala notifies Calicut University garden as Biodiversity Heritage Site
Illustration (AI-generated)

Kerala has declared the Calicut University Biodiversity Garden at Tenhipalam, in Malappuram district, a Biodiversity Heritage Site. The gazette notification, issued on 31 October 2026, rests on the State's power under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The garden grows tropical Indian plants alongside exotic species.

Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; Prelims · Environment & Ecology; GS3 · Environment & Conservation

Why this matters for UPSC

GS3 environment: biodiversity conservation under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. Prelims can ask who notifies a Biodiversity Heritage Site; Mains, conservation outside protected areas.

Why it matters

Heritage-site status puts the garden on the official list of areas notified for their biodiversity value under national law. For Kerala, the step shows a State using a power that the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 leaves to it, with its own board doing the groundwork. For conservation more widely, it shows that a planted collection built up over five decades can stand on the same list as sacred groves and lakes.

Prelims pointers

  • The earliest site on the Union Environment Ministry's 2023 list is the Nallur Tamarind Grove in Bengaluru, Karnataka, notified in 2007.
  • BHS and protected areas differ: National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, conservation reserves and community reserves form the protected area network, run under State Forest Department plans.
  • Biosphere Reserves are a separate designation meant to conserve representative ecosystems; they are not notified as heritage sites under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
  • Campus and garden sites already on the list include the GKVK campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru (2010) and Ganeshkhind Garden, Pune (2020).
  • Species-oriented programmes in India include Project Tiger, Project Elephant and Project Dolphin, as listed by the Union Environment Ministry.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to Biodiversity Heritage Sites in India, consider the following statements:

1. Under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notifies Biodiversity Heritage Sites.

2. Areas of cultural importance, besides areas rich in biodiversity, can be identified for declaration as Biodiversity Heritage Sites.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer

Answer: (b) 2 only

Answer: (b) 2 only. The State Government, not the Union Ministry, notifies these sites.

Statement 1: incorrect. Under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the State Government notifies Biodiversity Heritage Sites in the Official Gazette after consulting local bodies.

Statement 2: correct. The Kerala State Biodiversity Board names both areas rich in biodiversity and areas of cultural importance as candidates for declaration.

Eliminate: statement 1 gives the power to the wrong government. Out: (a), (c).

Eliminate: statement 2 matches the Board's description of the process. Out: (d).

Trap: Swapped attribution. The Union Ministry answers questions on biodiversity in Parliament, so the question pins a State power on it.

Remember: A Biodiversity Heritage Site is notified by the State Government after consulting local bodies.

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